USF Athletics

Bulls Host Tigers and No. 21 Shockers This Weekend

October 26, 2017

Weekend Schedule

Match 1: Friday, Oct. 27 | 7 p.m. | USF vs. Memphis
Match 2: Sunday, Oct. 29 | Noon | USF vs. No. 21 Wichita St.
Game Notes: USF | Wichita St.
Location: Tampa | The Corral
Twitter Updates: @usfvolleyball
Live Stats: Friday | Sunday
Watch: Friday | Sunday       

TAMPA, Oct. 26, 2017 – The University of South Florida volleyball team gears up for its first swing of conference rematches when it hosts Memphis and No. 21 Wichita St. this weekend.  
The Bulls (8-12, 3-7 The American) split their fifth weekend in conference action. USF defeated Tulane on Oct. 20 in straight-sets, recording a season-high .333 hitting percentage and 20 block assists.
 
Freshman outside hitter Doris Carter (Lexington, Ky.) hit a career-best .409 in the win over the Green Wave and has reached double-digit kills in three-straight matches. Senior setter Alex Mendoza (Minneola, Fla.) had 64 assists over the weekend and 15 digs. She recorded her eighth double-double on Oct. 22 in a setback at Houston.
 
THE OPPONENTS

Memphis: The Tigers enter this weekend paced by three underclassmen. Sophomore outside hitter Tai Bierria, freshman right side hitter Hannah Flowers and sophomore middle blocker Brianna Kadiku have tallied the majority of the points with 169 kills, 168 kills and 167 kills, respectively. Kadiku leads the team with 227.5 points and leads the league with 88 total blocks. Senior setter Faith Myers has a team-leading 516 assists.   
 
Wichita State: The Shockers have been dominant during American Athletic Conference action, dropping a total of three sets in their 10 wins. Wichita St. is ranked 21^st nationally with an RPI of 18, as it leads the league and sits in the top-15 in the country in assists per set (13.57), hitting percentage (.282) and kills per set (14.51). Junior Tabitha Brown and senior Abbie Lehman have 270 and 250 kills, respectively. Lehman is tied for the league lead with 88 blocks and sits first in the conference with 1.22 blocks per set. She also leads The American with a .405 hitting percentage. Senior setter Emily Hiebert has 812 assists on the season, averaging 11.28 per set.   

NOTABLES

• The Bulls are third in The American with 1.28 aces per set and 17.06 digs per set.  
• Mendoza is fourth in the conference with 9.87 assists per set and sixth with 701 total assists. She needs 36 more assists to move into fifth place on the program's all-time list.
• Redshirt-junior Clara Payne (Osteen, Fla.) leads the Bulls with 157 kills and is fifth in the league with 1.09 blocks per set.
• Carter is now second on the team with 155 kills and has tallied double-digit kills a team-high nine times.
• Junior outside hitter Reagan Davey (Ocala, Fla.) and senior Priscilla Ehieze (Houston) are right behind with 154 and 153 kills, respectively.  
• The Bulls defeated the Tigers in five sets on Oct. 1 and now lead the all-time series 19-9. Four Bulls recorded double-digit kills, led by Payne with 14. She also added seven total blocks. Mendoza had 51 assists in the win.  

About USF Volleyball
In addition to 10 newcomers, USF returns a large core of talent for 2017, led by senior setter Alex Mendoza, who surpassed the 2,000 assist total in 2016 and posted a team-high 1,125 helpers. Redshirt-junior middle blocker Clara Payne finished second on the team with 340 points and senior middle blocker Joli Holland finished fourth with 251.5 points. The Bulls are guided by sixth-year head coach Courtney Draper.
 
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